Hi. I have a SBS server with SQL Express 2008 and a W7 Pro workstation connected on a network. I have repeatedly followed instructions from various sources about enabling the TCP/IP and configuring the Windows firewall for port 1433.

My app connects to the server when the app is installed on the server, but the app installed on the workstation does not. The connection string is

A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider SQL Network Interfaces, error: 26 - Error Locating Server/Instance Specified)

The connection string works when invoked from the app installed on the server. And the SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections (according to several sets of instructions).

Again, this works from the app installed on the C drive of the server, but not from a network computer. Is the connection string good? Can anyone successfully connecting to a remote server please share their connection strings?

The link in Tara's post to the MSDN blog is very detailed and guides you through the steps you need to do to figure precisely this problem - namely, you are able to connect from the server box, but not from a remote machine. Allowing remote connections in the server settings is just one of the pieces of the puzzle. It could be any number of other things from network connectivity to some other incorrect setting or firewall setting, or something else.